Cab coupler



Mar ch 2, 1954 w. J. METZGER CAR COUPLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original FiledMarch 2, 1949 0 If a INVENTOR. Z :75; ER

A T TORNE Y W. J. METZGER March 2, 1954 CAR COUPLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed March 2, 1949 CENTER OF GRNHTY IN VEN TOR.

@W ATTORNEY Reisaued Mar. 2, 1954 FiCE can cournsa William J. Metz'ger,East Cleveland, Ohio, as-

signor to National Malleable and Steel Castings gmpany, Cleveland, Ohio,a corporation of Original No. 2,011,540, ems November 11, 1952, SerialNo. 79,140, March 2, 1949. Application for reissue December 15, 1953,Serial No.

' 2 Claims.

Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: 1 appears in the original patentbut forms no part of this rehsne specification; matter printed italicsindicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to car couplers and more particularly to knuckletype couplers for railway cars.

In the present E coupler which is standard for use on railway cars thetail of theknuckle tends to tip the knuckle due to the fact'that thepreponderance of the weight thereof is in the tail portions; While theknuckle is provided on its underside with a pad which serves as abearing on which the knuckle pivots about the pivot pin, the center ofgravity of the knuckle is disposed beyond the extremities of the pad andon the tail side of the pivot pin, thereby causing the knuckle to tilttoward the tail side. This condition is aggravated by the additionalweight of the coupler lock which rests on the knuckle tail when theknuckle 'is closed, and by associated lock operating parts. Furthermore,th wear on the bottom of the knuckle occurring as the result of servicewear allows the knuckle to seat lower in the coupler head and thusfurther aggravates the interference.

This tilting of the knuckle is objectionable because the pulling lug onthe underside of the knuckle tail is thereby caused to engage the floorof the coupler body and the frictional contact therebetween increasesthe force necessary to open the knuckle. The drag of the pulling lugagainst floor of the coupler as the knuckle is swung open requires theapplication of a considerably greater force to the handle or theuncoupling mechanism than would otherwise benecessary. In certaininstances it is practically impossible to raise the uncoupling rodhandle with sumclent force to open the knuckle.

Accordingly. it is the main object of my invention to provide a couplerknuckle in which its center of gravity is so disposed that there is notendency for the knuckle to tilt with respect to its pivot pin.

More specifically my object is to provide a bearing pad on the undersideof the knuckle so arranged that in conjunction with the coring of theknuckle tail there is/no tendency for the knuckle to tip.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1. is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of an A. A. R.standard E coupler embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 corresponds to Fig. 1 but shows an A. A. R. standard E coupler.7.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of an A. A. R. standard E coupler.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of an A. A. R. standard E knuckle embodyingmy invention.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a conyentional A. A. R. E knuckleof the solid type.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of an A. A. R. standard E knucklecored, embodying my invention.

Referrin to the drawings which illustrate an A. A. R. standard E couplerit will be seen that the knuckle I0 is pivoted to the coupler head H bymeans of a vertical pin II. The knuckle comprises a forward nose portionII on one side of pin it and a tail portion ll on the other side of thepin. With the knuckle in closed position as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,the lock it is seated on the knuckle tail shelf I8 and on the knucklethrower ii. The lock is also interposed between the knuckle tail and theside wall of the coupler head to maintain the knuckle in lockedposition.

To open th knuckle the lock must first be raised until it is clear ofthe knuckle tail. This is accomplished by the actuation of toggle Illand rotor lever 2i by means of the usual uncoupling rod (not shown)connected to the lever. As the rotor leveris actuated the upper end oftoggle 20 moves upwards and rearward in the inclined slot 22,. andwithdraws anticreep lug 23 from beneath stop 24 in the coupler head,thereby permitting the lock to be raised to unlocked position.

In Fig. 1 is shown an A. A. R. standard E coupler which has a knuckleiii embodying my invention, the knuckle being in closed position. Itwill be observed in particular that the knuckle is in upright positionwith a clearance as at '21 between pulling lug It and the floor I! ofthe coupler. The only contact between the knuckle and the coupler headis that which occurs between pad II, the novelty of which will appear ina succeeding part of this specification, and seat ll on the couplerhead.

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 but shows the present A. A. R. standard Ecoupler with a conventional knuckle and illustrates the tilted positionof the knuckle. It will be observed that knuckle II is tilted rearwardlyand that pulling lug 28 is in contact with floor I9 of the coupler head.Therefore, lug 28 will drag along the floor of the coupler as theknuckle is pivoted about its pivot pin and this will increaseconsiderably the force which is required to swing the knuckle fromlocked to open position.

I have found that in extending pad I! toward the knuckle tail the padwill underlie the center of gravity of the knuckle and will thereforepre- I vent tilting thereof. In Fig, 4 which shows the underside of anA. A. R. standard I: coupler knuckle, the outline oi pad 82 isillustrated. The pad is formed eccentrically around the knuckle pinhole, the greater part oi its area being to the knuckle tail side or thepivot pin hole 85.

Adjacent the side of the pad the knuckle is recessedasat"inordertoassureaiiatbearing surface on the pad. The curved dot-dash linea represents the contour of the pad as it exists in the present Ecoupler knuckle. It will be seen that the area of the support pad hasbeen substantially increased. most or the addition bein to the rear ortail side of the pin hole.

In Fig. 5 is shown the position or the center of gravity oi the existingsolidtype E coupler modifications are possible-within the seopeot theinvention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A car coupler knuckle comprising a forward nose portion and arearward tail portion, said taii portion forming a support for a lockand operating means therefor, said knuckle having a M- cal pivot pinhole intermediate said portions for receiving a pin for connecting saidknuckle to a coupler head, the combined center of gravity or said noseand tail portions and of the associated lock and lock operating meansbeing located rearwardly or said pivot pin hole, said knuckle having acontinuous pad on its underside surrounding said pivot pin hole, saidpad comprising 'a flat undersurtace coextensive therewith and exknucklewith respectto the pad ll. It will be observed that the center ofgravity is outside the boundary of the pad and therefore will cause theknuckle to tilt in the direction 01' its tail.

In 1946 the A. A. R. specifications were changed to permit. the coringof the'solid type knuckle in order to decrease the weight or theknuckle. To maintain the required strength or the cored knuckle it ismade from high tensile steel. This coring 'ot the knuckle is shown inFig. 6. While the coring ei'tected a reduction in weight of the knuckletail in respect to the forward portion It the knuckle still tended totilt toward its tail side and render diilicult the opening or theknuckle.

Fig. 8 corresponds to Fix. 5 but shows an A. A. R. standard E knucklecored and having my improved pad I! applied thereto. This view showsthat the center of gravity of the knuckle when projected downward lieswithin the extremity oi the pad, thereby avoiding any tendency oi theknuckle to tilt. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that even withtheweight oi the coupler lock and tonic resting on the knuckle tail theknuckle-remains upright.

It will be seen therefore, that the extension of the knuckle bearing padtoward the knuckle tail. assisted by the coring oi the knuckle, servesto dispose the center of gravity of the knuckle so that it lies withinthe extremity of the pad, and thus precludes tilting of the knuckle. Myimprovement thereby eliminates any drag between the lower pulling lug ofthe knuckle and the floor oi the coupler head.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms ordescription and not oi limitation, and I have no intention, in the useor such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents oi thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but recognise thatvarious tending rearwardly toward said tail portion so as to underliesaid center of gravity, said pad and said undersuriace serving tosupport said knuckle in upright position.

2. In a car coupler having a head, a knuckle pivoted to said head abouta vertical pin, a knuckle thrower, said knuckle having a tail portiondisposed rearwardly of said pin, a lock for said knuckle seated on saidtail and thrower, lock operating means connected to said lock andsupported thereby, said head having a flat horizontally disposed seatabout said pin beneath said knuckle. said knuckle having on itsunderside a continuous pad surrounding the knuckle pin opening thereinfor engagement with said seat for supporting said knuckle, the combinedcenter of gravity of said knuckle and of the lock and operating meanssupported by said knuckle being located on the tail side 01' said pin,said pad comprising a flat undersurtace coextensive therewith lying in asingle plane, said 'undersurim extending rearwardly [so as to underlie]beyond said center 01 gravity, said pad and said lmdersurface serving tosupport said knuckle in upright positionon said seat even with said lockand operating means supported by said tail.

WILLIAM J. METZGER.

References Cited in theme or this patent or the original patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number Name Date 440,585 Eastwick "'NOV. 11, 18001,144,316 B32818! June 22, 1915 1,203,319. Dillbhi Oct. 31, 19151,090,040 7 K8180 Dec. 18, 1928 1,932,440 Bazeley Oct. 31, 19333,088,135 Johnson Gt 8.1. .......L July 27, 1937 2,091,448 Joiner Aug.31, 1937 2,596,153 K8218! my 13, 1953

